Coaches: 20-game season gives the Big Ten championship more meaning

Like a pack of thoroughbreds in the Kentucky Derby, Big Ten teams are charging toward the finish line in hopes of claiming a Big Ten Championship. Still, Big Ten coaches are questioning if that title means as much as it could. "I think it would make the conference championship mean more if you played everyone twice," Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. Technically, only three teams (Wisconsin, Illinois and MSU) are still in the race for the Big Ten Championship.

'Last Comic' finalists make 2-night Lansing stand

The NBC reality series "Last Comic Standing," which began last summer, featured the challenges of stand-up comedy and real-life competition as comedians vied for the title of "Last Comic Standing." After battles for nationwide recognition and time in the spotlight, a few comics now have created a career path of their own - independent of, but with credit to, NBC. Although ousted from the spotlight by Dat Phan at the conclusion of the series, Cory Kahaney, Rich Vos and Dave Mordal still are very much in the public eye. The finalists from "Last Comic Standing" will be the headline acts this weekend at Connxtions Comedy Club, 2900 N.

Police briefs 02/27/04

Leaders voice opinions on 'U' medical school move

Lansing - MSU President M. Peter McPherson said Thursday that administrators haven't finalized a plan to move MSU's College of Human Medicine to Grand Rapids. In fact, McPherson says university officials still are considering suggestions and keeping an open mind about the future of the medical school. Amidst concerns that administrators were rushing to sweeping changes without listening to the community, McPherson spent Thursday listening to lawmakers' and faculty members' opinions on the situation. McPherson met with the faculty of the college early Thursday before addressing the concerns of the Mid-Michigan Legislative Delegation later in the day.

RHA passes bills, internal VP resigns

Wednesday night was a busy one in the basement of Wilson Hall. The Residence Halls Association's General Assembly passed four bills, nominated members for positions on next year's Executive Board and heard major announcements from two current executives. The first was a resignation from Internal Vice President Tom Edwards.

Christian speaks up for religion, tries to end atheists' rants

Apparently, for reasons more ambiguous than Wayne Brady, The State News Opinion column has been renamed "Religion Sucks and Abortion Rules!" In the last few weeks alone, many of my beliefs have been called "cute," "unscientific" and about as realistic as an episode of "VIP." These articles also have labeled my beliefs as dangerous, and small disagreements between Christian sects have been blown way out of proportion. All of this has been done in order to depict religion as a naive, prude-infused, ugly people-only club that the world would be better off without. Ironically, while these opinions have been printed on a daily basis, they barely represent the views of anyone.

A.P. Kryza as the Oscar

Call the bookies. Phone Vegas. The 76th Annual Academy Awards are set to air at 8 p.m. Sunday and, as of now, all bets are on.

Nader best choice in 2000, not Gore

For the past four years, I've endured all sorts of whiny pseudo-liberals like Patrick Walters slagging Ralph Nader and his supporters for "costing" Al Gore the 2000 election ("Nader needs new hobby; running for president getting old" SN 2/24). The truth is that Gore sold out liberal causes to appeal to the moderate mainstream and it hurt him big time.

Bowen develops complete game

Sophomore guard Lindsay Bowen has kept her focus on the team this season, but the development of her individual game has been as important to the team as anything. Bowen is the leading scorer for the No.

Clinic offers tax services

Late last fall, East Lansing resident Chris Galey was doing yardwork when he was approached by someone interested in purchasing his house. Galey knew he had some tax trouble, but he didn't know how bad it was. That day, Galey found his house was in foreclosure and his financial situation in dire need of help, which he couldn't afford.

Coveting the crown

In the landscape of college basketball, where players are shuffled in and out on a yearly basis, establishing a tradition of greatness is no easy task. But a special union between Tom Izzo, an unproven coach from the Upper Peninsula, and Mateen Cleaves, a cagey point guard bred in the basketball hotbed of Flint, cultivated a championship tradition at MSU and for four straight seasons, the Spartans ruled the Big Ten. It has been almost three years since MSU won a championship, and now three juniors, bound by their hunger to succeed, are poised to claim their first Big Ten title and help prevent MSU's championship tradition from fading into history. Juniors Chris Hill, Alan Anderson and Kelvin Torbert arrived at MSU in 2001 after the Spartans claimed their fourth straight Big Ten Championship.

NCAA approves Big Ten's use of replay

The Big Ten Conference has become the first in the nation to gain approval for use of instant replay during next season's football games. NCAA's Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet agreed to utilize existing technology to review controversial calls. Spartans head coach John.

Wrong message sent on body image

I am writing in regard to the Feb. 26 article "Skin-Deep: Group Fights Myths About Body Image." Although I think any press to get the word out on eating disorders in women is noble, I found Thursday's article to be completely incoherent. It begins by discussing how the media places unrealistic standards on women and men's bodies but then ends in what amounts to an advertisement for Weight Watchers. I also found it incredibly ironic that on the front page we see women expressing the pain caused by these standards, and then on the back page, there is a full-page advertisement selling "aerobic striptease." I suspect this is simply a symptom of how deeply rooted this problem is in our society, but we need to move past the idea that weight is the only factor that matters when it comes to one's health. As a society that supposedly celebrates diversity, we still are not ready to except the fact that everyone really does come in different sizes, and that the one size that everyone is rushing toward does not fit all. Marshall Poole 2003 graduate

Women playing like men

The No. 22 MSU women's basketball team is having one of those set-up seasons. That is to say, this season will set up for greater success next season, and in turn, be the first season in a long line of successful ones in the future. The MSU men's basketball team had a similar year in 1997-98, when head coach Tom Izzo had a talented group of sophomores (Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, David Thomas and A.J.

Reader didn't define anti-feminism well

To Erica Drozdowski, the self-proclaimed "anti-feminist" (

Uneasy comfort

Pap smear. Period. Stirrups. Speculum. Vagina. These words should be a part of society's everyday discussions on women's health, but sadly, most Americans - men, you're included - don't feel comfortable talking about what goes on down there. This week, The State News looked at some of the biggest health and sexuality issues concerning women, including diets, body image, emergency contraceptives, pleasure, sexuality and sexual health.

Coping

Sometimes, a woman says she blacked out and woke up with a man on top of her, and she's not sure how he got there. Sometimes, the student can't admit being sexually assaulted. Sometimes, all they remember is there wasn't a condom. Dennis Martell hears these stories as part of his job, and sometimes, being an HIV counselor breaks his heart. When it's particularly bad, he takes the student under his arm and walks them from Olin Health Center across East Circle Drive to MSU Counseling Center's Sexual Assault and Crisis Center in the Student Services Building. "It's the toughest counseling I've ever done," he said.

Store aims to login

While selling merchandise through existing vendors works for some, the MSU Surplus Store is looking to expand its business and find its own selling home on the Web. The store, located at 1344 S.

No respect

This is the true story of MSU College Republicans and a group of pro-affirmative action activists, picked to share a room at the Union to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting rude. In a move that overstepped reasonable discourse and essentially spat on manners and maturity, about 25 pro-affirmative action protesters - from campus groups, other Michigan universities and the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN - disrupted a meeting of the College Republicans on Wednesday night. They jeered guest speaker Barbara Grutter and the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative to the extent that MSU police were dispatched to disperse the crowd. Grutter, a plaintiff in the Supreme Court case against the University of Michigan Law School's racial-preference practices, is a supporter of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, an organization seeking to ban racial preferences by means of a state constitutional amendment.

C. Mack, Uncle Joey take it to the ring

If there were a tournament for prognosticators, C. Mack (13-9) would be a prognosticator on the bubble and Uncle Joey (11-11) would find himself in the NIT. Both hoop gurus went 2-2 last week, meaning C.